U.S. patent number 6,356,878 [Application Number 08/997,170] was granted by the patent office on 2002-03-12 for conditional purchase offer buyer agency system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to priceline.com Incorporated. Invention is credited to James A. Jorasch, Thomas M. Sparico, Daniel E. Tedesco, Andrew S. Van Luchene, Jay S. Walker.
United States Patent |
6,356,878 |
Walker , et al. |
March 12, 2002 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Conditional purchase offer buyer agency system
Abstract
A conditional purchase offer (CPO) buyer agency system is
disclosed for processing variable conditional purchase offers
(CPOs) containing at least one variable condition. If a posted CPO
is not accepted by at least one seller for a predefined period of
time, or has been rejected by all potential sellers, the terms of
the posted CPO may be modified by the CPO buyer agency system,
within the tolerances specified by the buyer in the variable CPO,
to facilitate acceptance. A buyer can submit a variable CPO having
two sets of conditions, namely, a first set and a second set of
conditions, as well as the corresponding buyer-defined offer price
for each condition set. In addition, the buyer preferably provides
a set of rules to control the gradual posting of the condition sets
between the first and second condition sets, as well as the
appropriate adjustments to the corresponding offer price. A buyer
can also submit a variable CPO having several predefined CPO sets,
each with defined condition sets and corresponding offer prices, as
well as a priority for their posting. If the highest priority CPO
is not accepted, the next CPO in the prioritized list can be posted
until a CPO is bound, all possibilities have been exhausted or the
variable CPO has expired. A CPO rule application process monitors
and modifies variable CPOs having a first set and a second set of
conditions, and a CPO evaluation process monitors and modifies
variables CPOs having predefined CPO condition sets.
Inventors: |
Walker; Jay S. (Ridgefield,
CT), Van Luchene; Andrew S. (Norwalk, CT), Tedesco;
Daniel E. (Stamford, CT), Jorasch; James A. (Stamford,
CT), Sparico; Thomas M. (Riverside, CT) |
Assignee: |
priceline.com Incorporated
(Norwalk, CT)
|
Family
ID: |
27505502 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/997,170 |
Filed: |
December 22, 1997 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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943266 |
Oct 3, 1997 |
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923683 |
Sep 4, 1997 |
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889319 |
Jul 8, 1997 |
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707660 |
Sep 4, 1996 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.81;
705/37; 705/39 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q
20/00 (20130101); G06Q 20/02 (20130101); G06Q
20/04 (20130101); G06Q 20/10 (20130101); G06Q
20/12 (20130101); G06Q 20/24 (20130101); G06Q
20/403 (20130101); G06Q 30/02 (20130101); G06Q
30/06 (20130101); G06Q 30/0635 (20130101); G06Q
40/04 (20130101); G07F 9/026 (20130101); G07G
1/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06Q
20/00 (20060101); G06Q 30/00 (20060101); G07F
9/02 (20060101); G07G 1/00 (20060101); G06F
017/60 () |
Field of
Search: |
;705/26,27,1,5,13,15,37,35,38 ;295/226,228,236,237,239
;340/825.3 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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512 702 |
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Nov 1992 |
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EP |
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95/16971 |
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Jun 1995 |
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WO |
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96/13013 |
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May 1996 |
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WO |
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96/34356 |
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Oct 1996 |
|
WO |
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97/16797 |
|
May 1997 |
|
WO |
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97/46961 |
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Dec 1997 |
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WO |
|
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|
Primary Examiner: Millin; Vincent
Assistant Examiner: Rosen; Nicholas David
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Morgan & Finnegan, LLP
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 08/923,683, filed Sep. 4, 1997 and U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 08/943,266, filed Oct. 3, 1997, each of which
are continuation-in-parts of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
08/889,319, filed Jul. 8, 1997, which is a continuation-in-part of
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/707,660, filed Sep. 4, 1996,
each incorporated by reference herein.
Claims
We claim:
1. A method for using a computer to process the sale of goods or
services, comprising:
receiving in said computer a plurality of purchase offers for goods
or services from a buyer, each of said purchase offers containing
at least one condition and a buyer-specified price;
receiving a payment identifier specifying a general purpose account
from which funds may be paid at said buyer-specified price; and
thereafter
providing at least one of said plurality of purchase offers to a
plurality of sellers;
obtaining at least one acceptance of said at least one provided
purchase offer;
determining a first acceptance obtained, thereby determining a
first seller of the plurality of sellers; and
processing the sale of said goods or services between said buyer
and said first seller which has accepted a purchase offer.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said providing
comprises providing at least a first and a second of said plurality
of purchase offers to a plurality of sellers in a sequential
manner, and wherein said second purchase offer is not provided to
said plurality of sellers until said first purchase offer was not
accepted for a predetermined time period.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said providing
comprises providing a first and a second of said plurality of
purchase offers to a plurality of sellers simultaneously.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein upon determining a
first acceptance obtained of said first or second purchase offer,
further comprising canceling said other of said first or second
purchase offer.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein upon said determining a
first acceptance obtained, payment is provided to the first
seller.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein upon said determining a
first acceptance obtained, payment is transferred from said buyer
to the first seller.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
prior to said providing, displaying appropriate legal language to
said buyer to form a binding offer.
8. A method, comprising:
receiving in a computer system an indication of a first purchase
offer and a second purchase offer from said buyer, the first
purchase offer including:
a first condition value, and
a first price;
and the second purchase offer including:
a second condition value, and
a second price;
receiving a payment identifier specifying a general purpose account
from which funds may be paid for said purchase offers;
after receiving said first purchase offer, said second purchase
offer, and said payment identifier, providing the first purchase
offer to a plurality of sellers;
determining if the first purchase offer was accepted within a
predetermined time period;
if the first purchase offer was not accepted within said
predetermined time period, providing the second purchase offer to a
plurality of sellers; and
if said first or said second purchase offer is accepted by any
seller, processing a sale in accordance with said acceptance.
9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising canceling
said first purchase offer upon providing said second purchase
offer.
10. The method according to claim 8, wherein said providing the
second purchase offer comprises modifying the first purchase offer
in accordance with the second condition value and the second
price.
11. The method of claim 8 further comprising:
prior to said providing, displaying appropriate legal language to
said buyer to form a binding offer.
12. A method for processing the purchase of an item using a
computer system, comprising:
obtaining in said computer system a variable purchase offer from a
customer for said item, said variable purchase offer containing a
first condition set and a second condition set, and an offer price
for each of said condition sets;
obtaining a payment identifier from said customer, said payment
identifier specifying a financial account to provide payment for
said variable purchase offer; and after receiving said variable
purchase offer and said payment identifier, providing a purchase
offer to a plurality of sellers containing said first set of
conditions;
determining whether any of said sellers accepts said purchase
offer;
modifying at least one variable condition within said first
condition set to a second condition value if said variable purchase
offer is not accepted within a predefined time period;
providing said modified purchase offer to said plurality of
sellers; and
if an acceptance is received for one of said purchase offers,
processing the purchase of said item.
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said modifying is
repeated until all of said variable conditions within said first
condition set have been modified to said second condition
value.
14. The method according to claim 12, further comprising modifying
said offer price for each modification to said variable conditions
within said first condition set.
15. The method according to claim 12, further comprising initiating
use of said payment identifier if said customer does not purchase
said item after a seller accepts one of said purchase offers.
16. The method according to claim 12, wherein said variable
conditions within said first condition set are modified in
accordance with a condition priority established by the buyer.
17. The method according to claim 11, wherein said variable
conditions within said condition set are modified until all
configurations of said first and said second condition sets have
been exhausted.
18. The method according to claim 11, wherein said variable
conditions within said condition set are modified for each time
period equal to the pendency period of said purchase offer divided
by the number of possible modifications to said conditions.
19. The method according to claim 11, wherein said offer price is
modified each time said conditions are modified.
20. The method according to claim 19, wherein said price
modification is equal to the difference between said first and
second prices divided by the number of possible modifications to
said conditions.
21. The method according to claim 11, wherein said purchase offer
is modified if said purchase offer is rejected by all sellers.
22. The method according to claim 11, wherein said purchase offer
further includes a set of rules to control the gradual posting of
the condition sets between the first and second condition sets.
23. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step
of binding said customer to purchase said item if an acceptance is
received for one of said purchase offers.
24. The method according to claim 11, wherein said first condition
set is associated with an ideal condition set and a corresponding
maximum price.
25. The method according to claim 11, wherein said first condition
set is associated with a broad or flexible set of conditions and a
corresponding minimum offer price.
26. The method of claim 12 further comprising:
prior to said providing, displaying appropriate legal language to
said buyer to form a binding variable purchase offer.
27. A method of using a computer system to process the sale of
goods or services, comprising:
receiving by said computer system a plurality of purchase offers
from a customer for said goods or services, said purchase offers
containing a plurality of condition sets and buyer-defined offer
prices;
receiving a payment identifier specifying a financial account to
provide payment for said buyer-defined offer prices upon acceptance
of any of said purchase offers; and thereafter
evaluating by said computer system a first purchase offer against
seller inventory and pricing information of a plurality of sellers
to determine whether said first purchase offer is to be accepted by
said computer system on behalf of any seller;
if said first purchase offer is not accepted by said computer
system on behalf of any seller, evaluating a second purchase offer
against said seller inventory and pricing information of the
plurality of sellers to determine whether said second purchase
offer is to be accepted by said computer system on behalf of any
seller; and
processing the sale of said goods or services if one of the
purchase offers is accepted.
28. A system for processing the sale of goods or services,
comprising:
a memory device;
a processor disposed in communication with said memory device, said
processor configured to:
receive a plurality of purchase offers for goods or services from a
buyer, each of said purchase offers containing at least one
condition and a buyer-specified price;
receive a payment identifier specifying a general purpose account
from which funds may be paid for any of said purchase offers; and
thereafter
provide at least one of said plurality of purchase offers to a
plurality of sellers;
obtain at least one acceptance of said at least one provided
purchase offer;
determine a first acceptance obtained, thereby determining a first
seller of the plurality of sellers; and
process the sale of said goods or services between said buyer and
said first seller.
29. The system according to claim 28, wherein said processor is
further configured to provide at least a first and a second of said
plurality of purchase offers to a plurality of sellers in a
sequential manner, and wherein said second purchase offer is not
provided to said plurality of sellers until said first purchase
offer was not accepted for a predetermined time period.
30. The system according to claim 28, wherein said processor is
further configured to provide a first and a second of said
plurality of purchase offers to a plurality of sellers
simultaneously.
31. A system, comprising:
a memory device;
a processor disposed in communication with said memory device, said
processor configured to:
receive an indication of a first purchase offer and a second
purchase offer from a buyer, the first purchase offer
including:
a first condition value, and
a first price;
and the second purchase offer including:
a second condition value, and
a second price;
receive a payment identifier specifying a general purpose account
from which funds may be paid for said purchase offers;
after receiving said first purchase offer, said second purchase
offer, and said payment identifier, provide the first purchase
offer to a plurality of sellers;
determine if the first purchase offer was accepted within a
predetermined time period;
if the first purchase offer was not accepted within said
predetermined time period, provide the second purchase offer to a
plurality of sellers; and
if said first or said second purchase offer is accepted by any
seller, process a sale in accordance with said acceptance.
32. A system for processing the purchase of an item,
comprising:
a memory;
a processor disposed in communication with said memory, said
processor configured to:
obtain a variable purchase offer from a customer for said item,
said variable purchase offer containing a first condition set and a
second condition set, and an offer price for each of said condition
sets;
obtain a payment identifier from said customer, said payment
identifier specifying a financial account to provide payment for
said item; and
after receiving said variable purchase offer and said payment
identifier, provide a purchase offer to a plurality of sellers
containing said first condition set;
determine whether any of said sellers accepts said purchase
offer;
modify at least one variable condition within said first condition
set to a second condition value if said variable purchase offer is
not accepted within a predefined time period;
provide said modified purchase offer to said plurality of sellers;
and
if an acceptance is received for said variable purchase offer or
said modified purchase offer, process the purchase of said
item.
33. A computer system for processing the sale of goods or services,
comprising:
a memory;
a processor disposed in communication with said memory, said
processor configured to:
receive a plurality of purchase offers from a customer for said
goods or services, said purchase offers containing a plurality of
condition sets and buyer-defined offer prices;
receive a payment identifier specifying a financial account to
provide payment for said buyer-defined offer prices upon acceptance
of any of said purchase offers; and thereafter
evaluate a first purchase offer against seller inventory and
pricing information of a plurality of sellers to determine whether
said first purchase offer is to be accepted by said computer system
on behalf of any seller;
if said first purchase offer is not accepted by said computer
system on behalf of any seller, evaluate a second purchase offer
against said seller inventory and pricing information of the
plurality of sellers to determine whether said second purchase
offer is to be accepted by said computer system on behalf of any
seller; and
process the sale of said goods or services if any purchase offer is
accepted.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a system for buying
goods and services, and more particularly, to a method and system
for administering the purchase of such goods and services by
customers who have submitted one or more purchase offers for the
purchase of such items.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Most systems for processing the sale of products are seller-driven,
whereby the seller prices, packages, configures and offers a
product for sale, and the buyer decides whether or not to accept
the seller's offer. In a buyer-driven system, on the other hand,
the buyer dictates the terms of the offer and one or more sellers
decide whether or not to accept. A "help wanted" advertisement, for
example, is a buyer-driven inquiry since an employer is looking to
locate and buy the services of a qualified employee. The inquiry is
advertised to a large number of potential employees, who may
respond by submitting their resumes to the prospective
employer.
The parent and grandparent applications to the present application
disclose a buyer-driven Conditional Purchase Offer (CPO) Management
System that processes binding purchase offers received from
individual consumers. The purchase offers contain one or more
buyer-defined conditions for the purchase of goods or services, at
a buyer-defined price. The purchase offers are typically guaranteed
by a general-purpose financial account, such as a debit or credit
account, and thereby provide sellers with a mechanism for
collecting payment from the consumer. The purchase offers are
provided by the CPO Management System to sellers, for individual
sellers to either accept or reject. If a seller accepts a purchase
offer, the CPO Management System binds the buyer on behalf of the
accepting seller, typically by charging the general-purpose
financial account designated by the buyer or providing the account
information to the accepting seller for processing, to form a
legally binding contract. Thus, the CPO Management System empowers
individual consumers to obtain goods and services, such as travel
or insurance services, at prices which are set by the consumers.
The CPO Management System provides numerous commercial advantages
to sellers as well. For example, the CPO Management System permits
individual sellers to effectively sell excess capacity when actual
demand fails to meet forecasted demand. In particular, the CPO
Management System provides an effective mechanism for sellers to be
confident that if they accept a consumer's offer, the consumer will
purchase the requested goods or services at the agreed-upon price.
Yet, the consumer remains unable to use the information to
ascertain the seller's underlying level of price flexibility,
which, if known to a seller's competitors or customers, could
dramatically impact the seller's overall revenue structure.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/889,319, the grandparent
application to the present application, discloses a CPO Management
System that permits sellers to provide proprietary rules for the
acceptance of CPOs. Each of these rules establishes one or more
restrictions which the seller is willing to accept for a predefined
minimum price. The rules are utilized by the CPO Management System
to determine whether to accept, reject or counter a CPO on behalf
of a particular seller. In this manner, the CPO Management System
can respond to submitted CPOs in real-time on behalf of sellers,
with a minimal amount of expensive, time consuming and error prone
human intervention.
For many transactions, the embodiments of the CPO Management
Systems discussed above, and more fully in the parent and
grandparent applications, will effectively complete transactions
between buyers and sellers, with minimal intervention by the
parties once the CPO has been submitted. The performance of the CPO
Management System depends, at least in part, upon its utilization
by a large number of both buyers and sellers. Specifically, buyers
are more likely to submit purchase offers if they know the purchase
offers will be reviewed by a sufficiently large number of sellers.
Likewise, sellers are more likely to review offers if a
sufficiently large number of offers are submitted. In addition to
being a lost business opportunity, purchase offers which are not
accepted represent a waste of time and effort by both buyers and
sellers. Thus, buyers and sellers alike will be frustrated and
discouraged from utilizing the CPO Management System if the
acceptance rate for submitted purchase offers does not meet
acceptable levels.
Invariably, some buyers will submit purchase offers that are not
initially accepted by any seller, typically because the price
offered by the buyer is too low. While a purchase offer may not be
acceptable as originally posted, buyers and sellers alike would
benefit if the purchase offer could be modified over time to
increase the likelihood that the CPO will be acceptable to at least
one seller. The above-referenced CPO Management Systems do permit
buyers to submit a CPO having a range of acceptable conditions,
such as a three (3) day acceptable departure period for air travel
at a specified price. Once submitted, however, the CPO is generally
posted to sellers with the entire range of acceptable conditions in
a "take it or leave it" manner. Thus, if a posted CPO is not
accepted by any seller, the buyer's only option is to obtain the
desired item elsewhere (generally at a higher price) or to start
over and submit a new CPO, having either different conditions and
an associated offer price, or the same conditions at a higher
price.
While many buyers in the above example may be satisfied with any
flight within the specified three (3) day departure window, a
number of buyers may prefer departures at certain times of day
within the three (3) day departure window, and may be willing to
pay a premium to obtain such a flight. Likewise, for buyers
primarily motivated by price, it is desirable to initially post a
CPO with the entire range of acceptable conditions, in an attempt
to obtain a lower price as the reward for such flexibility. With
present systems, however, the buyer is unable to dynamically post
successive CPOs having an appropriate balance between the
flexibility of posted conditions and the associated offer
price.
Online auctions, such as those sponsored by eBay/AuctionWeb, Best
Internet Communications or OpenSite, allow a bidder to set a
maximum bid and have the actual bid automatically increased over
time, in fixed increments, up to the maximum bid amount. Such
auctions, however, do not allow the bidder to dynamically trade off
price for product quality or other product characteristics. In
other words, the auctions only permit buyers to increase their bid
on the same product. In addition, adjustable price increments are
not set by the bidder.
As apparent from the above deficiencies with conventional systems
for buying and selling goods and services, such as airline tickets,
a need exists for a system that permits buyers to submit variable
CPOs containing at least one variable condition to allow the CPO to
be modified over time, within the tolerances specified by the buyer
in the variable CPO. A further need exists for a buyer agency
system that allows a buyer to submit a variable CPO having two
variable sets of conditions (first and second) and a set of rules
to control the gradual posting of the condition sets between the
first and second condition sets, as well as the appropriate
adjustments to the corresponding offer price. Yet another need
exists for a buyer agency system that allows a buyer to submit a
variable CPO having several CPOs, each with defined condition sets
and corresponding offer prices, as well as a priority for their
posting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Generally, according to one aspect of the invention, a conditional
purchase offer (CPO) buyer agency system is disclosed for
processing variable conditional purchase offers (CPOs) containing
at least one variable condition. If a posted CPO is not accepted
for a predefined period of time, or has been expressly rejected by
all potential sellers, the terms of the posted CPO may be modified
by the CPO buyer agency system, within the tolerances of the
variable CPO, to facilitate acceptance. A variable CPO is a binding
offer containing at least one variable condition submitted by a
buyer for the purchase of an item, within a buyer-specified price
range. A variable condition contains either a range of values or
both an initial value and at least one alternate value therefor. A
different buyer-defined price may be specified for each possible
combination of conditions.
The disclosed conditional purchase offer (CPO) buyer agency system
serves as an agent for the buyer and allows a buyer to submit
multiple purchase offers at one time. The multiple CPOs may be
provided to sellers sequentially or simultaneously. When purchase
offers are provided to sellers sequentially, the buyer may control
the timing and priority in which the purchase offers are provided
to the sellers. When multiple purchase offers are provided to
sellers simultaneously, remaining related CPOs should be cancelled,
once one of the simultaneously posted CPOs is accepted.
The buyer may specify the variable CPO in a number of ways. In one
embodiment, referred to herein as the "Variable Condition Sets
Embodiment," a buyer submits a variable CPO by specifying a first
condition set and a second condition set, as well as the
corresponding buyer-defined offer price for each condition set. In
addition, the buyer can provide the CPO buyer agency system with a
set of rules to control the gradual posting of the condition sets
between the first and second condition sets, as well as the
appropriate adjustments to the corresponding offer price. Under the
"Variable Condition Sets Embodiment," the first condition set is
initially posted and one variable condition within the first
condition set is changed to a value corresponding to the second
condition set for each time period, in a predefined sequence based
on a condition priority established by the buyer, until the posted
CPO is accepted.
In another embodiment, referred to herein as the "Predefined CPO
Condition Sets Embodiment," a buyer may specify a variable CPO
containing several distinct CPOs, each with a defined condition set
and corresponding offer price, as well as a priority for their
posting. Under the "Predefined CPO Condition Sets Embodiment," a
buyer can submit a variable CPO containing several CPOs, each with
a defined condition set and corresponding offer price, as well as a
priority for their posting. Thus, if the buyer's highest priority
CPO is not accepted within a predefined period of time, or is
expressly rejected by all potential sellers, the CPO buyer agency
system posts the next CPO in the prioritized list until a CPO is
bound, all possibilities have been exhausted or the variable CPO
has expired.
The CPO buyer agency system may periodically execute a CPO rule
application process and a CPO evaluation process to monitor
variable CPOs and to modify the terms of the posted CPO, within the
tolerances specified by the buyer in the variable CPO, if the
posted CPO has not been accepted by at least one seller within a
predefined period of time, or has been expressly rejected by all
potential sellers. The CPO rule application process monitors and
modifies variable CPOs having a first set and a second set of
conditions, and the CPO evaluation process monitors and modifies
variables CPOs having predefined CPO condition sets.
A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well as
further features and advantages of the present invention, will be
obtained by reference to the following detailed description and
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a CPO buyer agency
system in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the exemplary central
controller of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the exemplary buyer agency
module of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of the exemplary buyer or
seller interface of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 illustrates a sample table from the posted CPO database of
FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 illustrates a sample table from the buyer database of FIG.
2;
FIG. 7 illustrates a sample table from the seller database of FIG.
2;
FIGS. 8A and 8B, collectively, illustrate a sample table from the
rules-based CPO database of FIG. 3;
FIG. 9 illustrates a sample table from the CPO database of FIG.
3;
FIGS. 10A through 10F, collectively, are a flow chart describing an
exemplary CPO rule application process implemented by the buyer
agency module of FIG. 3; and
FIGS. 11A and 11B, collectively, are a flow chart describing an
exemplary CPO evaluation process implemented by the buyer agency
module of FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 shows a conditional purchase offer (CPO) buyer agency system
100 for receiving variable conditional purchase offers (CPOs)
containing at least one variable condition from one or more buyers,
using buyer interfaces 400-401, discussed further below in
conjunction with FIG. 4. According to a feature of the present
invention, the CPO buyer agency system 100 processes each received
variable CPO and generates at least one CPO to be posted to one or
more sellers, utilizing seller interfaces 405-406. The posted CPO
contains a set of conditions satisfying the variable conditions
specified by the buyer in the variable CPO. The CPO buyer agency
system 100 determines whether one or more sellers are willing to
accept a given posted CPO. If a posted CPO has not been accepted by
at least one seller within a predefined period of time, or has been
expressly rejected by all potential sellers, the terms of the
posted CPO may be modified by the CPO buyer agency system 100,
within the tolerances specified by the buyer in the variable CPO,
to facilitate acceptance. As discussed further below, if a seller
accepts a given posted CPO, the CPO buyer agency system 100 binds
the buyer on behalf of the accepting seller, thereby forming a
legally binding contract, consistent with the terms of the posted
CPO.
As used herein, a variable CPO is a binding offer containing at
least one variable condition submitted by a buyer for the purchase
of an item, within a buyer-specified price range. As discussed
below, the variable CPO may be guaranteed, for example, using a
general-purpose financial account, such as a credit or debit
account, maintained by a financial institution. Once a seller
accepts the offer, the buyer is bound by the conditional purchase
offer (CPO) buyer agency system 100 transferring payment from the
general-purpose financial account previously designated by the
buyer to the accepting seller (or transferring an indication of the
general-purpose account itself to the seller for processing). Thus,
even if the buyer ultimately fails to proceed with the transaction
following acceptance of the CPO by a seller, the general-purpose
account designated by the buyer will be charged the full value or a
penalty.
A variable condition contains either a range of values or both an
initial value and at least one alternate value therefor. A
different buyer-defined price may be specified for each possible
combination of conditions. The disclosed conditional purchase offer
(CPO) buyer agency system 100 allows a buyer to submit multiple
purchase offers at one time. The multiple CPOs may be provided to
sellers sequentially or simultaneously. In addition, when purchase
offers are provided sequentially, the buyer may control the timing
and priority in which the purchase offers are provided to the
sellers.
The buyer may specify the variable CPO in a number of ways. In one
embodiment, referred to herein as the "Variable Condition Sets
Embodiment," a buyer submits a variable CPO by specifying a first
condition set and a second condition set, as well as the
corresponding buyer-defined offer price for each condition set. In
addition, the buyer can provide the CPO buyer agency system 100
with a set of rules to control the gradual posting of the condition
sets between the first and second condition sets, as well as the
appropriate adjustments to the corresponding offer price. In
another embodiment, referred to herein as the "Predefined CPO
Condition Sets Embodiment," a buyer may specify a variable CPO by
submitting several CPOs, each with defined condition sets and
corresponding offer prices, as well as a priority for their
posting.
In one implementation of the "Variable Condition Sets Embodiment,"
discussed further below, the first condition set is initially
posted, and one variable condition within the condition set is
changed to the second condition value for each time period, in a
predefined sequence based on a condition priority established by
the buyer, until the posted CPO is accepted. The CPO buyer agency
system 100 adjusts the offer price for each condition set variation
or the offer price can remain constant for one or more condition
set variations, if specified by the buyer.
Thus, the Variable Condition Sets embodiment permits buyers to
identify their "ideal" conditions as their first condition set, for
example, with a corresponding maximum price (less flexible/higher
price start point). If the first condition set is not accepted, the
condition set is reconfigured with one or more conditions adjusted
to the second (or more flexible) condition, with an appropriate
price reduction. Likewise, the Variable Condition Sets embodiment
permits buyers, for example, with "more time than money," to
identify their broadest or most flexible conditions as their first
condition set, with a corresponding low starting price (more
flexible/lower price start point). If the first condition set is
not accepted, the condition set is reconfigured with one or more
conditions adjusted to the second (or less flexible) condition,
with an appropriate price increase.
For example, if a buyer submits a variable CPO by specifying two
variable condition sets having three prioritized variable
conditions, the CPO buyer agency system 100 initially posts a CPO
with each of the three conditions having the values associated with
the first condition set. If the posted CPO remains unaccepted after
a predefined period of time, the CPO buyer agency system 100
changes the posted value of the lowest priority condition to the
value associated with the second condition set, and leaves the two
conditions having the highest priority unaltered. Thereafter, the
value of one individual condition is changed for each time period
to the value associated with the second condition set, until each
of the conditions have the value associated with the second
condition set, or until the CPO is accepted or expired.
In the "Predefined CPO Condition Sets Embodiment," a buyer may
specify a variable CPO containing several CPOs, each with a defined
condition sets and a corresponding offer price, as well as a
priority for their posting. In this manner, if the buyer's highest
priority CPO is not accepted within a predefined period of time, or
is expressly rejected by all potential sellers, the CPO buyer
agency system 100 posts the next CPO in the prioritized list until
a CPO is bound, all possibilities have exhausted or the variable
CPO has expired.
In the "Predefined CPO Condition Sets Embodiment," two or more
multiple individual CPOs within the scope of a single variable CPO
can simultaneously be provided to sellers. Once a CPO is accepted,
the status of the remaining posted individual CPOs, as well as the
overall variable CPO, are adjusted to reflect the acceptance of the
first individual CPO and the cancellation of any simultaneously
pending related CPOs. For example, each of the condition sets and
corresponding prices can be separately posted as individual CPOs
until one of the individual CPOs is accepted.
Although the CPO buyer agency system 100 is illustrated herein as a
system for selling travel related products, the CPO buyer agency
system 100 could be utilized to facilitate the purchase and sale of
any good or service, such as automobiles, insurance, computer
equipment, or telephone service, as would be apparent to a person
of ordinary skill. For a more detailed discussion of a general CPO
management system for selling such items, see U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 08/707,660, filed Sep. 4, 1996, the
great-grandparent application to the present application, which is
incorporated by reference herein.
CPO BUYER AGENCY SYSTEM
As shown in FIG. 1, the CPO buyer agency system 100 includes a
central controller 200, discussed further below in conjunction with
FIG. 2, one or more buyer agency modules 300, discussed further
below in conjunction with FIG. 3, for communicating with buyer
interfaces, such as the buyer interface 401, and one or more
secured servers 110 for communicating with one or more seller
interfaces, such as the seller interface 406. The CPO buyer agency
system 100 may provide a given CPO to selected sellers based on the
industry associated with the CPO or other predefined screening
criteria, so that sellers only obtain CPOs that they may be
interested in or are authorized to screen. Alternatively, the CPO
buyer agency system 100 may provide all CPOs to all sellers for
screening.
According to one feature of the present invention, the CPO buyer
agency system 100 provides an optional agency feature that permits
the CPO buyer agency system 100 to accept or reject a given posted
CPO on behalf of certain agency-based sellers who have delegated
such authority to the CPO buyer agency system 100. Thus, the CPO
buyer agency system 100 provides two distinct operating modes in
that it (i) evaluates CPOs on behalf of certain agency-based
sellers who have delegated authority to the CPO buyer agency system
100 to accept or reject a given CPO, and (ii) permits
broadcast-based sellers to evaluate CPOs independently. Thus, the
CPO buyer agency system 100 can provide one or more CPOs to each
broadcast-based seller, for the sellers to independently determine
whether or not to accept a given CPO. It is noted that the CPO
buyer agency system 100 can provide a CPO to each appropriate
broadcast-based seller, for example, by means of a broadcast
transmission, or by means of posting the CPO, for example, on an
electronic bulletin board accessible by each broadcast-based
seller. Alternatively, the CPO buyer agency system 100 can evaluate
one or more CPOs against a number of CPO rules defined by one or
more agency-based sellers, to decide on behalf of an agency-based
seller to accept or reject a given CPO. Thus, the CPO buyer agency
system 100 can determine if one or more sellers accepts a given CPO
by providing the CPO to each seller and receiving an acceptance,
rejection or counteroffer, or by applying the CPO to the CPO rules
to render a decision to either accept, reject or counter a CPO on
behalf of a particular seller.
As discussed further below, a CPO rule is a set of restrictions
defined by a given agency-based seller, to define a combination of
such restrictions for which the seller is willing to accept a CPO.
For a more detailed discussion of CPO rules, the manner in which
they are generated and related security issues, see U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 08/889,319, entitled Conditional Purchase
Offer Management System, filed Jul. 8, 1997, the grandparent
application to the present application, which is incorporated by
reference herein. Each secured server 110 may be associated with
one or more sellers and each secured server 110 stores, among other
things, the CPO rules defined by associated sellers. Each secured
server 110 may be remotely located from the central controller 200,
as shown in FIG. 1, or may be integrated with the central
controller 200. In remote embodiments, the secured server 110
associated with each seller may be physically located at a
processing facility secured by the particular seller or at the
physical location of a third party.
The CPO rules contain sensitive information, including, for
example, the seller's price flexibility and available capacity,
which, if known to a seller's competitors or customers, could
dramatically impact the seller's overall revenue structure. Thus,
according to a feature of the present invention, the CPO rules may
be securely stored by each server 110, to prevent one seller from
accessing, obtaining or altering the CPO rules of another seller.
In one embodiment, the secured servers 110 utilize computer
security techniques, such as database access control mechanisms. In
this manner, the integrity and confidentiality of the CPO rules can
be maintained in the otherwise potentially hostile computing
environment.
As discussed further below, each buyer or his agent contacts the
CPO buyer agency system 100, for example, by means of telephone,
facsimile, online access, e-mail, or in-person contact with an
operator of the system 100, and provides the CPO buyer agency
system 100 with the terms of his CPO or variable CPO (including
buyer rules to control the gradual posting of the condition sets
between the first and second condition sets, if appropriate). In
one embodiment, buyers submit variable CPOs to one or more buyer
agency modules 300, discussed below in conjunction with FIG. 3, and
each buyer agency module 300 processes each received variable CPO
and provides a CPO to the central controller 200 for posting to the
sellers. The posted CPO contains a set of conditions satisfying the
variable conditions specified by the buyer in the variable CPO.
It is noted that each buyer may employ a general-purpose computer,
such as the buyer interface 400, discussed below in conjunction
with FIG. 4, for communicating with the CPO buyer agency system
100. The general-purpose computer of each buyer preferably
comprises a processing unit, a modem, memory means and software
required to communicate with the CPO buyer agency system 100.
The CPO buyer agency system 100 may periodically execute a CPO rule
application process 1000, discussed below in conjunction with FIG.
10, and a CPO evaluation process 1100, discussed below in
conjunction with FIGS. 11A and 11B, to monitor variable CPOs and to
modify the terms of the posted CPO, within the tolerances specified
by the buyer in the variable CPO, if the posted CPO has not been
accepted within a predefined period of time, or has been expressly
rejected by all potential sellers. Generally, the CPO rule
application process 1000 monitors and modifies variable CPOs having
Variable Condition Sets and the CPO evaluation process 1100
monitors and modifies variable CPOs having Predefined CPO Condition
Sets.
The CPO buyer agency system 100 and buyer and seller interfaces
400-401 and 405-406 (collectively, the "nodes") transmit
digitally-encoded data and other information between one another.
The communication links between the nodes may comprise one or more
cables, optical fibers or wireless links on which signals can
propagate. For example, each node may be connected via an Internet
connection using a public switched telephone network (PSTN), such
as those provided by a local or regional telephone operating
company. Alternatively, each node may be connected by dedicated
data lines, cellular, Personal Communication Systems ("PCS"),
microwave, or satellite networks.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the architecture of an
illustrative central controller 200. The central controller 200
preferably includes certain standard hardware components, such as a
central processing unit (CPU) 205, a data storage device 230, a
payment processor 260 and a network interface 280. The CPU 205 is
linked to each of the other listed elements, by means of a shared
data bus, or dedicated connections, as shown in FIG. 2.
The CPU 205 may be embodied as a single commercially available
processor, such as Intel's 300 MHz Pentium II microprocessor or
Motorola's 266 MHz PowerPC 750 microprocessor. Alternatively, the
CPU 205 may be embodied as a number of such processors operating in
parallel.
The data storage device 230, as well as a read only memory (ROM)
(not shown) are operable to store one or more instructions, which
the CPU 205 is operable to retrieve, interpret and execute. For
example, the data storage device 230, in cooperation with the
payment processor 260, may store processes to accomplish the
authentication and/or transfer of required payments, charges and
debits, between the buyers and sellers. In particular, the payment
processor 260 transmits the credit card information associated with
a given buyer to the credit card processor(s) 120 (FIG. 1), such as
First USA, for payment, by means of the transaction authorization
network, if a CPO is accepted by a seller. The processing of such
accounting transactions may be secured in a conventional manner,
for example, using well known cryptographic techniques.
Alternatively, the central controller 200 may transmit a buyer
payment identifier, such as a credit card number, to a seller who
has accepted the buyer's CPO for payment processing.
As discussed further below in conjunction with exemplary data
provided in FIGS. 5 through 7, respectively, the data storage
device 230 includes a posted CPO database 500, a buyer database 600
and a seller database 700. The posted CPO database 500 stores
conventional CPOs which have been submitted by buyers, as well as
the current condition set for each variable CPO. The buyer database
600 stores information on each buyer in communication with the CPO
buyer agency system 100, including biographical information and
billing information, such as a credit card number. The seller
database 700 stores information on each seller registered with the
CPO buyer agency system 100 to sell products to CPO customers,
including the name of the seller and an indication of CPOs which
have been accepted by each seller. The network interface 280
connects the central controller 200 to individual buyers and
sellers, for example, by means of an Internet connection using the
public switched telephone network (PSTN). The network interface 280
preferably includes multiple communication channels for
simultaneously establishing a plurality of connections.
In addition, the central controller 200 is capable of performing
one or more processes for (i) receiving CPOs from buyers, as well
as one or more buyer agency modules 300, (ii) providing each posted
CPO to the appropriate broadcast-based sellers and evaluate each
CPO against the appropriate rules of each agency-based seller,
(iii) determining whether any seller accepts a posted CPO and (iv)
processing payments for accepted CPOs. Each received CPO includes
an identifier of a general purpose account, such as a credit or
debit card account from which funds may be paid. In this manner,
the CPO is guaranteed with the general purpose account. Appropriate
legal language is preferably displayed or read to the buyer at the
time the CPO is received, to form a binding CPO. For a more
detailed discussion of the processes performed by the central
controller 200, see, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No.
08/943,266, filed Oct. 3, 1997, a parent application to the present
application, incorporated by reference herein.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the architecture of an
illustrative buyer agency module 300. As previously indicated, the
CPO buyer agency system 100 may include one or more buyer agency
modules 300 for processing received variable CPOs and for providing
a CPO to the central controller 200 for posting to the sellers.
Each posted CPO contains a set of conditions satisfying the
variable conditions specified by the buyer in the variable CPO.
Although the buyer agency module 300 is illustrated in FIG. 1 as
being remote from the central controller 200, the features and
functions of the buyer agency module 300 could easily be performed
by the above-described hardware components of the central
controller 200, as would be apparent to a person of ordinary skill.
When the buyer agency module 300 is remote from the central
controller 200, buyers are more likely to be confident that sellers
will not have access to their spending limits or purchasing
flexibilities. Each buyer agency module 300 can include certain
standard hardware components, such as a central processing unit
(CPU) 305, a data storage device 330, and a communications port
340. Each of these components may function identically to those
corresponding components described above in conjunction with FIG.
2.
As discussed further below in conjunction with exemplary data
provided in FIGS. 8 and 9, respectively, the data storage device
330 includes a rules-based CPO database 800 and a CPO database 900.
The rules-based CPO database 800 stores variable CPOs having
Variable Condition Sets, while the CPO database 900 stores CPOs
having Predefined CPO Condition Sets. In addition, the data storage
device 330 includes a CPO rule application process 1000 and a CPO
evaluation process 1100 to monitor variable CPOs and to modify the
terms of the posted CPO, within the tolerances specified by the
buyer in the variable CPO, if the posted CPO has not been accepted
by at least one seller within a predefined period of time, or has
been expressly rejected by all potential sellers. Generally, the
CPO rule application process 1000 monitors and modifies variable
CPOs having Variable Condition Sets and the CPO evaluation process
1100 monitors and modifies variables CPOs having Predefined CPO
Condition Sets.
The communications port 340 connects the buyer agency module 300 to
the central controller 200, as well as to the buyer interfaces
400-401 of the buyers submitting variable CPOs. The communications
port 340 preferably include multiple communication channels for
simultaneously establishing a plurality of connections.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the architecture of buyer
interface 400. The architecture illustrated in FIG. 4 is equally
descriptive of the functionality of the buyer interface 401 and
seller interfaces 405-406. The interface 400 preferably includes
certain standard hardware components, such as a central processing
unit (CPU) 408, a data storage device 430, and a communications
port 440. Each of these components may function identically to
those corresponding components described above in conjunction with
FIG. 2. In addition, the interface 400 preferably includes a video
monitor 450 for presenting video information to a user and a
related video driver 460 for processing such video information, and
an input device 470, such as a keyboard or mouse.
The data storage device 430 preferably includes a message database
480 for storing messages required by the respective buyer or seller
interface 400-401 and 405-406 to communicate with the central
controller 200 of the CPO buyer agency system 100. The
communications port 440 connects the interface 400 to the CPO buyer
agency system 100.
DATABASES
Several of the databases 500 through 900, discussed below in
conjunction with FIGS. 5 through 9, contain time-sensitive data.
The exemplary data set forth in the posted CPO database 500, the
rules-based CPO database 800 and the CPO database 900 correspond to
an illustrative date and time of Sep. 15, at 12:00 AM, as recorded
by the date/time stamps 502, 802 and 902, shown in FIGS. 5, 8A and
9, respectively. FIG. 5 illustrates the posted CPO database 500
that contains a record of each conventional CPO which has been
submitted by a buyer, as well as the current condition set for each
variable CPO, including the conditions of each CPO and the
associated status. The posted CPO database 500 maintains a
plurality of records, such as records 505-520, each corresponding
to a different posted CPO. For each posted CPO identified by CPO
number in field 540, the posted CPO database 500 includes the
corresponding expiration date, status, subject, price and
conditions, in fields 545 through 565, respectively. An identifier
of the buyer associated with each CPO is set forth in field 570. As
discussed further below, records 505 and 515 contain the current
posted CPO for variable CPOs having Variable Condition Sets (less
flexible/higher price start point and more flexible/lower price
start point, respectively) and records 510 and 520 contain the
current posted CPO for variable CPOs having Predefined CPO
Condition Sets.
FIG. 6 illustrates the buyer database 600 that stores information
on each buyer that has submitted a CPO to the CPO buyer agency
system 100. The buyer database 600 maintains a plurality of
records, such as records 605-620, each corresponding to a different
buyer. For each buyer identifier in field 625, the buyer database
600 includes the corresponding buyer name and address in fields 630
and 635, respectively, and credit card account number in field 640.
In addition, the buyer database 600 preferably includes an
indication of the CPO(s) associated with the buyer in field 645.
The buyer identifier stored in field 625 may be utilized, for
example, to index a historical database (not shown) of previous
purchases and CPOs associated with the buyer. Such a historical
database may be maintained separately from the buyer database 600.
Alternatively, the historical database may be dynamically
determined by searching the buyer database 600.
FIG. 7 illustrates the seller database 700 that stores information
on each seller which is registered with the CPO buyer agency system
100 to sell goods or services to CPO buyers. The seller database
700 maintains a plurality of records, such as records 705-730, each
corresponding to a different seller. For each seller identifier
listed in field 735, the seller database 700 includes the
corresponding seller name in field 740, as well as a CPO tracking
number in field 745 for each CPO which has been accepted by the
seller.
FIGS. 8A and 8B, collectively, illustrate the rules-based CPO
database 800 that stores variable CPOs having Variable Condition
Sets, including the first and second condition sets, as well as
buyer rules to control the gradual posting of the condition sets
between the first and second condition sets, as well as the
appropriate adjustments to the corresponding offer price. The
rules-based CPO database 800 maintains a plurality of records, such
as records 805 and 810, each corresponding to a different variable
CPO. For each buyer identifier listed in field 820, the rules-based
CPO database 800 includes the subject of the variable CPO, as well
as the corresponding date and time the CPO was submitted and its
associated status in fields 825 through 835, respectively. In
addition, the rules-based CPO database 800 stores the prices
corresponding to the first and second condition sets in field 840
(as specified by the buyer), as well as the current posted price
and price change amounts in fields 845 and 850, respectively. The
price change amount may be obtained by dividing the difference
between the first and second prices by the number of possible
condition sets. For example, since the difference between the offer
prices for the first and second condition sets is $40 for the
variable CPO set forth in record 810, and the number of possible
conditions sets is four (4) (first condition set, second condition
set and two intermediate steps), the offer price is preferably
increased by $10 for each change period.
The date and time of the last CPO price alteration, and the pending
time required to alter the CPO price are recorded in fields 855 and
860, respectively. The pending time required to alter the CPO price
may be obtained by dividing the difference the number of days
between the offer date and the master expiration date for the
variable CPO by the number of possible condition sets. For example,
since the difference between the offer date and the master
expiration date is twelve (12) days for the variable CPO set forth
in record 810, and the number of possible conditions sets is four
(4) (first condition set, second condition set and two intermediate
steps), then the pending time necessary to alter the CPO price is
three days. The manner in which the price alteration variables
stored in fields 855 and 860 are processed by the CPO buyer agency
system 100 is discussed below in conjunction with FIG. 10.
As shown in FIG. 8B, the rules-based CPO database 800 preferably
stores the first and second condition sets in fields 865 and 870,
respectively, and the priority of each condition in field 875. An
identifier of the last condition that was altered is set forth in
field 880. The date and time of the last CPO condition alteration,
and the pending time required to alter the CPO conditions are
recorded in fields 885 and 890, respectively. The pending time
required to alter the CPO conditions may be obtained by dividing
the number of days between the offer date and the master expiration
date for the variable CPO, by the number of possible condition
sets. Generally, the pending time required to alter the CPO
conditions will be the same as the pending time required to alter
the CPO price, unless the buyer specifies an alternative
price/condition variation schedule. The manner in which the
condition alteration variables stored in fields 885 and 890 are
processed by the CPO buyer agency system 100 is discussed below in
conjunction with FIG. 10. Although the information stored in fields
855, 860, 885 and 890 of the rules-based CPO database 800 permits
separate times for changing the price and conditions of a CPO (by
storing different values in fields 860 and 890), the implementation
could be simplified by requiring that the price and conditions be
adjusted at the same time. Finally, the rules-based CPO database
800 includes the expiration date and time of the current posted
CPO, as well as the master expiration date for the entire variable
CPO in fields 895 and 898, respectively.
FIG. 9 illustrates the CPO database 900 that stores variable CPOs
having Predefined CPO Condition Sets, including each of the
conditions and corresponding price for each CPO. The CPO database
900 maintains a plurality of records, such as records 905 and 910,
each corresponding to a different variable CPO. For each buyer
identifier listed in field 920, the CPO database 900 includes a
corresponding CPO identifier, offer date and subject in fields 925
through 935, respectively. In addition, the CPO database 900
includes the price and corresponding conditions for each condition
set in the CPO in fields 940 and 945, respectively. The priority
and status of each condition and price set pair is recorded in
fields 950 and 955, respectively, and the identification number of
the condition/price set pair which is currently posted is set forth
in field 960. The pending time necessary to post a new
condition/price set pair, the expiration date and time of the
current posted condition/price set pair, and the master expiration
date of the overall variable CPO are set forth in fields 965
through 975, respectively. The manner in which the posting variable
stored in field 965 is processed by the CPO buyer agency system 100
is discussed below in conjunction with FIGS. 11A and 11B. The
pending time value stored in field 965 is calculated by dividing
the number of days between the offer date (field 930) and the
master expiration date (field 975) for the variable CPO, by the
number of predefined condition sets (number of individual CPOs
within the variable CPO).
PROCESSES
As discussed above, the buyer agency module 300 may periodically
execute a CPO rule application process 1000, described by the
flowchart in FIGS. 10A through 10F, to monitor variable CPOs having
Variable Condition Sets and to modify the terms of the posted CPO,
in accordance with the buyer-specified rules that control the
gradual posting of the condition sets between the first and second
condition sets, as well as the appropriate adjustments to the
corresponding offer price, if the posted CPO remains unaccepted
after a predefined period of time. The CPO rule application process
1000 is preferably initiated upon expiration of the current posted
offer, as recorded in field 895 of the rules-based CPO database
800. Although the CPO rule application process 1000 permits
separate times for changing the CPO conditions and price, the CPO
rule application process 1000 could be simplified by requiring that
the price and conditions be adjusted at the same time, as would be
apparent to a person of ordinary skill.
As illustrated in FIG. 10A, the CPO rule application process 1000
initially retrieves the system date/time during step 1002, for
example, from the clock 325 (FIG. 3) and the offer date/time of the
CPO from field 830 of the rules-based CPO database 800 during step
1004. Thereafter, a test is performed during step 1006 to determine
if a CPO associated with the current variable CPO has been
communicated to the central controller 200. If it is determined
during step 1006 that a CPO associated with the current variable
CPO has not been communicated to the central controller 200, then a
CPO is transmitted to the central controller 200 during step 1008
containing the first condition set and price. The first condition
set and prices are retrieved from fields 840 and 865 of the
rules-based CPO database 800 (FIGS. 8A and 8B). Thereafter, program
control terminates during step 1010.
If, however, it is determined during step 1006 that a CPO
associated with the current variable CPO has already been
communicated to the central controller 200, then the CPO rule
application process 1000 must determine if sufficient time has
elapsed to modify the terms of the variable CPO in accordance with
the rules specified by the buyer. Thus, the CPO rule application
process 1000 transmits a request, including the buyer identifier,
for the status of the currently posted CPO to the central
controller 200 during step 1012. Once the CPO status is received
from the central controller 200 during step 1014, a test is
performed during step 1016 to determine if the status of the
currently posted CPO is still "pending." If it is determined during
step 1016 that the status of the currently posted CPO is no longer
"pending," then the corresponding status field 835 in the
rules-based CPO database 800 is changed to indicate that the CPO
has been "accepted" during step 1018, before program control
terminates during step 1020.
If, however, it is determined during step 1016 that the status of
the currently posted CPO is still "pending," then the "last
condition priority altered" is retrieved from field 880 of the
rules-based CPO database 800 during step 1022 (FIG. 10B). A test is
then performed during step 1024 to determine if all of the possible
CPO configurations have been attempted. In other words, have all
the conditions within the initial first condition set been altered
to the second condition value. If it is determined during step 1024
that all of the possible CPO configurations have been attempted,
then the status field 835 of the rules-based CPO database 800 is
updated during step 1026 to indicate that the variable CPO was
"unaccepted," before program control terminates during step
1028.
If, however, it is determined during step 1024 that all of the
possible CPO configurations have not been attempted, then the CPO
rule application process 1000 will proceed to determine and
transmit the next condition set to the central controller 200.
Thus, the current system date/time is retrieved from the clock 325
(FIG. 3) during step 1030. The date and time of the last CPO price
alteration is then retrieved from field 855 of the rules-based CPO
database 800 (FIG. 8A) during step 1032. The pending time necessary
to alter the CPO price is then retrieved from field 860 of the
rules-based CPO database 800 (FIG. 8A) during step 1034.
A test is then performed during step 1038 (FIG. 10C) to determine
if sufficient time has elapsed to alter the posted price. If it is
determined during step 1038 that sufficient time has not elapsed to
alter the price, then program control proceeds to step 1050,
discussed below. If, however, it is determined during step 1038
that sufficient time has elapsed to alter the price, then the
amount of the price adjustment is calculated and provided to the
central controller 200 during steps 1040 through 1048.
Specifically, the amount of the price change and the current posted
price are retrieved from fields 850 and 845, respectively, of the
rules-based CPO database 800 during steps 1040 and 1042,
respectively. The price change amount is then applied to the
current posted price during step 1044, and the new price is
transmitted to the central controller 200 during step 1046. The
current system date/time is recorded in field 855 of the
rules-based CPO database 800 during step 1048.
The date and time of the last CPO condition alteration is then
retrieved from field 885 of the rules-based CPO database 800 (FIG.
8B) during step 1050. The pending time necessary to alter the CPO
conditions is then retrieved from field 890 of the rules-based CPO
database 800 (FIG. 8B) during step 1052 (FIG. 10D). A test is then
performed during step 1054 to determine if sufficient time has
elapsed to alter the posted conditions. If it is determined during
step 1054 that sufficient time has not elapsed to alter the
conditions, then program control proceeds to step 1072 (FIG. 10E),
discussed below.
If, however, it is determined during step 1054 that sufficient time
has elapsed to alter the conditions, then the appropriate next
condition set is determined and provided to the central controller
200 during steps 1056 through 1070. In one embodiment, the lowest
priority conditions (as specified by the buyer) are altered first.
Thus, an identifier of the last condition priority altered is
retrieved from field 880 of the rules-based CPO database 800 during
step 1056 and is then decremented by one during step 1058 (to
reflect that conditions should be altered from lowest priority
conditions to highest priority conditions). The value of the
condition indicated by the next condition priority to be altered is
then changed to the second condition value during step 1060. The
current condition set is then communicated to the central
controller 200 during step 1062. The altered condition number is
then stored in field 880 of the rules-based CPO database 800 during
step 1068 (FIG. 10E) and the system date and time is recorded in
field 885 of the rules-based CPO database 800 during step 1070.
Finally, the CPO rule application process 1000 will determine the
expiration date that applies to the currently posted CPO during
steps 1072 through 1088. Specifically, the CPO rule application
process 1000 will retrieve the current system date and time from
the clock 325 during step 1072. The date and time of the last CPO
price alteration, and the pending time necessary to alter the CPO
price are retrieved from fields 855 and 860, respectively, of the
rules-based CPO database 800 during step 1076. The date and time of
the next CPO price alteration are then calculated during step 1078
by adding the pending time retrieved during the previous step 1076
to the current system date and time, retrieved during step 1072.
The date and time of the last CPO condition alteration, and the
pending time necessary to alter the CPO condition are retrieved
from fields 885 and 890, respectively, of the rules-based CPO
database 800 during step 1080. The date and time of the next CPO
condition alteration are then calculated during step 1082 by adding
the pending time retrieved during the previous step 1080 to the
current system date and time, retrieved during step 1072.
A test is then performed during step 1084 (FIG. 10F) to determine
if the date and time of the next CPO condition alteration is before
the date and time of the next CPO price alteration. If it is
determined during step 1084 that the date and time of the next CPO
condition alteration is before the date and time of the next CPO
price alteration, then the date and time of the next CPO condition
alteration are transmitted to the central controller 200 as the new
expiration date for the currently posted CPO and stored in field
895 of the rules-based CPO database 800 as the expiration date of
the currently posted CPO during step 1086.
If, however, it is determined during step 1084 that the date and
time of the next CPO condition alteration is after (or equal to)
the date and time of the next CPO price alteration, then the date
and time of the next CPO price alteration is transmitted to the
central controller 200 as the new expiration date for the currently
posted CPO and stored in field 895 of the rules-based CPO database
800 as the expiration date of the currently posted CPO during step
1088. Program control then terminates during step 1090.
As discussed above, the buyer agency module 300 preferably
periodically executes a CPO evaluation process 1100, shown in FIGS.
11A and 11B, to monitor variable CPOs having Predefined CPO
Condition Sets and to modify the terms of a posted CPO, within the
tolerances permitted by the variable CPO, if the posted CPO remains
unaccepted after a predefined period of time. As illustrated in
FIG. 11A, the CPO evaluation process 1100 initially performs a test
during step 1105 to determine if a CPO associated with the current
variable CPO has been communicated to the central controller 200.
If it is determined during step 1105 that a CPO associated with the
current variable CPO has not been communicated to the central
controller 200, then the highest priority CPO is transmitted to the
central controller 200 during step 1110, as retrieved from fields
940, 945 and 950 of the CPO database 900 (FIG. 9), before program
control terminates during step 1115.
If, however, it is determined during step 1105 that a CPO
associated with the current variable CPO has already been
communicated to the central controller 200, then the CPO evaluation
process 1100 must determine if sufficient time has elapsed to post
the next preferred CPO. Thus, the CPO evaluation process 1100
transmits a request, including the buyer identifier, to the central
controller 200 during step 1120 for the status of the currently
posted CPO. Once the CPO status is received from the central
controller 200 during step 1125, a test is performed during step
1130 to determine if the status of the currently posted CPO is
still "pending." If it is determined during step 1130 that the
status of the currently posted CPO is no longer "pending," then the
corresponding status field 955 in the CPO database 900 is changed
to indicate that the CPO has been "accepted" during step 1135,
before program control terminates during step 1140.
If, however, it is determined during step 1130 that the status of
the currently posted CPO is still "pending," then the status of the
corresponding record of the CPO database 900 is changed to
"unaccepted" during step 1145 (FIG. 11B), and the next priority
condition/price set pair is transmitted to the central controller
200 during step 1150. The status of the record of the CPO database
900 corresponding to the condition/price set pair is changed to
"pending" during step 1155. The expiration date corresponding to
the currently posted CPO is calculated during step 1160 by adding
the pending time necessary to post a new condition/price set pair
(from field 965) to the previous expiration date recorded in field
970. Finally, the new expiration date for the currently posted CPO
is transmitted to the central controller 200 and recorded in field
965 of the CPO database 900 during step 1165, before program
control terminates during step 1170.
It is to be understood that the embodiments and variations shown
and described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of
this invention and that various modifications may be implemented by
those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention.
For example, as previously indicated, although the present
invention has been illustrated in a travel environment, the CPO
buyer agency system 100 could be utilized to sell any item, as
would be apparent to a person of ordinary skill.
* * * * *
References